Highcroft Racing
| Founded | 1989 |
|---|---|
| Teamprincipal(s) | Duncan Dayton |
| Current series | Historic motorsport |
| Former series | Formula Ford American Le Mans Series |
| Noted drivers |  David Brabham
 Robbie Kerr |
| Teams' Championships | 2 (2009,2010) |
| Drivers' Championships | 2 (2009,2010) |
Highcroft Racingwas an Americanauto racingteam based out ofDanbury, Connecticutand founded by driver Duncan Dayton in 1989. Initially founded for Dayton's involvement inhistoric motorsport,specifically the restoration and preparation of classic automobiles, the team was expanded for Dayton's entry into theUSACFormula Ford2000 series in 1994. The team entered a partnership withIntersport Racingin 2003 and entered theAmerican Le Mans Series(ALMS).
Highcroft Racing last competed in 2012, and has since ceased operations. In the spring of 2015, the building that housed their headquarters near the Danbury, CT Airport was sold for $8.2 million.[1]
Racing History
[edit]
2006 (Lola)
[edit]In 2006 Highcroft purchased anMG-Lola EX257fromDyson Racingand started their own ALMS team. They entered four races includingPetit Le Manswhere the team scored a third-place finish. The team ended the season 4th in the LMP1 Team Championship.
2007-11 (HPD)
[edit]For 2007, the team was chosen byHondaPerformance Development (HPD) to run one of threeAcura ARX-01sforAcura's debut in the ALMS. DriversDavid BrabhamandStefan Johanssonwould compete for the full season. The team's best result came atRoad Americawhere they finished third in class. Highcroft Racing finished the season 3rd in the LMP2 Championship[2]behind the twoPorscheteams ofPenske Racingand Dyson Racing but the most successful of theAcurateams.David BrabhamandStefan Johanssonfinished 5th in the Drivers Championship.[3]
For 2008, the team continued their campaign of theAcura ARX-01.The team also earned title sponsorship fromPatrón Tequilafor a three-year contract.Scott Sharpjoined the team to replaceStefan JohanssonasDavid Brabhamsco-driver. Over the season, the team gained 3 class finishes as well as an overall finish at Lime Rock Park, givingAcuraits first overall victory. The team finished the season 2nd in the LMP2 championship[4]behind Penske Racing, but was, once again, the most successful of theAcurateams. DriversScott SharpandDavid Brabhamalso finished 2nd in the Team Championship.[5]
Highcroft was one of two teams chosen to campaign Acura's newLMP1car. Highcroft andDe Ferran Motorsportswould compete with theAcura ARX-02aduring the2009 American Le Mans Series season.Due to the absence of Audi Sport North America, the team's main competition wasDe Ferran Motorsports.The team claimed victories at St. Petersburg, Road America and Mosport. Although winning fewer races throughout the season, Highcroft Racing scored more season long points than De Ferran Motorsports and claimed the LMP1 Championship.[6]Scott SharpandDavid Brabhamalso claimed the LMP1 Drivers Championship.[7]
The 2010 season saw the LMP1 and LMP2 classes combine to form a new, performance balanced, LMP class. Scott Sharp left Highcroft Racing at the end of the 2009 season in order to start his own team with Patrón CEO, Ed Brown. De Ferran Motorsport'sSimon Pagenaudwas signed to be Brabham's co-driver.[8]The team returned to the LMP2-spec Acura, now rebadgedHPDafter having season long troubles with theAcura ARX-02a.Highcroft earned four race victories and a podium finish at every other race of the season. The team's consistent performance won Highcroft its second consecutive Team and Drivers Championship.[9][10]
In 2010, Highcroft Racing made their debut in the24 Hours of Le Mansusing theHPD ARX-01cthey competed with in theAmerican Le Mans Series.Due to French Liquor Laws, the team were unable to display their primary sponsor,Patrón Tequila,on the car. They instead chose to represent their charitable partner,Malaria No More.DriversDavid Brabham,Marino Franchitti,andMarco Wernerqualified 2nd in class, behindStrakka Racing,the second HPD team. The team completed 296 laps and finished 9th in the LMP2 class.
For 2011, Highcroft Racing intended to compete in the fullAmerican Le Mans Seriesseason as well as the24 Hours of Le Manswith the newHPD ARX-01eLMP1 car. The team started the year at theMobil 112 Hours of Sebringwhere they took delivery of their new car only a week before the race.David Brabham,Simon PagenaudandMarino Franchittiqualified 7th in class but were able to finish 2nd overall, completing 332 laps. On May 16, Highcroft Racing andHPDannounced that its partnership would come to an end. Due to the impact of the tsunami on Japan and onHonda,the team withdrew its entry in the2011 24 Hours of Le Mansand would not compete in the rest of theAmerican Le Mans Seriesseason due to lack of funding.
2012 (DeltaWing)
[edit]In 2012, Highcroft Racing teamed with Ben Bowlby andAll American Racersto build, develop and race the newDeltaWing,an experimental racing car. The car was designed to reduce aerodynamic drag dramatically allowing for quicker straight and cornering speeds while using half as much power and half as much weight. Despite skepticism over the project, the DeltaWing made its debut in the2012 24 Hours of Le Mans,filling the 56th garage reserved for experimental vehicles.Marino Franchitti,Michael KrummandSatoshi Motoyama[11]qualified 29th with a time of 3:42.612, which was 18.825 behind the lead car.[12]The car was retired after 75 laps following an accident in which the DeltaWing ran into a concrete barrier at the Porsche Curves after a collision withKazuki Nakajima'sToyota TS030 Hybrid.[13]The DeltaWing recorded a best race lap time of 3:45.737, rivaling some of the LMP2 teams.[14]Nakajima later apologized for the incident. The team also competed atPetit Le Mans,the final round of the ALMS season, as an unclassified entry. The team set out to finish the race, something they hadn't done at Le Mans earlier in the year. After rebuilding the car from a collision in practice, the team went on to finish 5th overall, completing 388 laps; just 6 laps behind the overall leader.
Drivers
[edit]ALMS (2006-2011)
[edit]David Brabham(2007–11)
Duncan Dayton (2006,2007 Sebring)
Dario Franchitti(2009Sebring,Petit Le Mans)
Marino Franchitti(2010Sebring,Petit Le Mans)
Memo Gidley(2006 Petit Le Mans)
Stefan Johansson(2007,2008 Sebring)
Robbie Kerr(2007 Petit Le Mans)
Vítor Meira(2006 Petit Le Mans)
Simon Pagenaud(2010–11)
Scott Sharp(2008–09)
Andy Wallace(2006)
DeltaWing (2012)
[edit]Marino Franchitti
Michael Krumm
Satoshi Motoyama
References
[edit]- ^"Former Highcroft Racing building sells for $8.2M".29 April 2015.
- ^2007 Team Championship Results2007
- ^2007 Drivers Championship Results2007
- ^2008 Team Championship Results2008
- ^2008 Drivers Championship Results[permanent dead link]2008
- ^2009 Team Championship Results2009
- ^2009 Drivers Championship Results[permanent dead link]2009
- ^Pagenaud Joins Patron HighcroftArchived2009-12-17 at theWayback MachineDecember 14, 2009
- ^2010 Team Championship Results2010
- ^2010 Drivers Championship Results2010
- ^Considine, Tim(July 2012)."The DeltaWing".Road & Track.63(11): 121–124. Archived fromthe originalon 4 June 2012.Retrieved14 June2012.
- ^"DeltaWing to start 29th in 24 Hours of Le Mans after qualifying".Autoweek.June 14, 2012. Archived fromthe originalon June 16, 2012.RetrievedJune 16,2012.
- ^"24 Hours of Le Mans: Nissan DeltaWing retires after crash".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-06-18.Retrieved2013-06-20.
- ^24 Hours of Le Mans 2012 - Classification (See Lotus-Lola B12/80)Archived2013-03-28 at theWayback Machine
External links
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